Estate Planning in Georgia: Wills, Probate, and Directives
A plain-language overview of the documents and probate rules behind estate planning in Georgia, with links to detailed guides on each topic.
Estate Planning
Wills, trusts, powers of attorney, healthcare directives, and probate procedures.
New Jersey Estate Planning: Wills, Trusts, and Probate
How estate planning works in New Jersey, the documents state law recognizes, will requirements, what happens without a will, probate through the county Surrogate, and how inheritance and estate taxes apply.
North Carolina Estate Planning: Wills, Trusts, and Probate
A plain-language reference to estate planning in North Carolina: the documents, the vocabulary, and the court processes that decide what happens to a person’s property and decisions.
Estate Planning in Michigan: Wills, Trusts, and Probate
A plain-language orientation to estate planning in Michigan: the core documents, how wills and powers of attorney are executed, trusts and probate avoidance, intestate succession, small-estate shortcuts, and state tax rules.
Virginia Estate Planning: Wills, Trusts, and Probate
A plain-language orientation to estate planning in Virginia: the core documents, what makes a will valid, how property passes without a will, how estates move through the circuit court, and how state taxes apply.
Estate Planning in Washington State: Documents, Probate, and Tax
An orientation to estate planning in Washington: the core documents, how probate and the state estate tax work, and what happens without a will, all under Title 11 RCW.
Revocable Living Trusts in New York: Setup and Funding
How New York law treats a revocable living trust: the signing formalities under the EPTL, the funding step that decides whether the trust works, and the limits on what a trust can accomplish.
Ohio Estate Planning: Wills, Probate, and Trusts
An orientation to estate planning in Ohio: the documents that make up a plan, what makes a will valid, how intestate succession and probate work, the shortcuts that skip full administration, and the tools that pass property outside probate.
Illinois Transfer on Death Deed (TODI): Avoiding Probate
In Illinois, a transfer on death deed (called a transfer on death instrument) lets an owner pass real estate to a named beneficiary without probate, if it is properly executed and recorded before death.
How to Avoid or Reduce Pennsylvania Inheritance Tax
Pennsylvania inheritance tax applies from the first dollar. Here are the exemptions, gifting rules, and early-payment discount that reduce what an estate owes.
Illinois Small Estate Affidavit: The $150,000 Probate Shortcut
An Illinois small estate affidavit moves up to $150,000 of personal property to a decedent’s heirs without probate. Here is who qualifies, what the affidavit must say, and the responsibility the signer accepts.
Pennsylvania Small Estate Affidavit and Settlement Options
Pennsylvania settles small estates through two statutory shortcuts: direct family payments under 20 Pa.C.S. § 3101 and the $50,000 orphans’ court small-estate petition under § 3102. Here is how each works and when full administration is still required.